A federal judge in Boulder, Colorado, just slammed the brakes on deportation proceedings for the family of a man accused of a shocking firebombing attack.
NPR reported that on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Gordon P. Gallagher issued an order stopping the government from deporting the wife and five children of Mohamed Sabry Soliman, who faces serious charges after a violent incident targeting a pro-Israel demonstration.
Let’s rewind to Sunday, June 1, 2025, when Soliman, a 45-year-old Egyptian citizen, allegedly unleashed chaos in downtown Boulder at the Pearl Street pedestrian mall.
He’s accused of hurling Molotov cocktails at a group of about 20 demonstrators advocating for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza.
According to authorities, Soliman planned to take out everyone there but chickened out after tossing just two of his 18 homemade incendiaries while shouting "Free Palestine."
The aftermath of this attack is nothing short of heartbreaking. Updated reports confirm 15 people were injured—eight women and seven men, aged 25 to 88—along with a dog, all part of the volunteer group Run For Their Lives, holding their weekly protest.
Six victims landed in the hospital, with three at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital on the CU Anschutz Medical Campus.
One story cuts deep: a victim who, as a child, fled Nazi persecution during the Holocaust now finds herself a target of hate once more. If that doesn’t make you pause and think about the cycles of violence, what will?
Soliman didn’t escape unscathed either—he set himself ablaze while throwing his second device, and his booking photo shows a hefty bandage over one ear.
Police say he acted alone, but his lack of remorse is chilling; he told authorities he wanted to "kill all Zionist people" and had been plotting this for a year, waiting for his daughter to graduate.
Now, let’s talk about Soliman’s status in the U.S.—he’s been here on an expired tourist visa since February 2023 after arriving in August 2022.
Originally from a small farming village in Egypt’s Nile Delta, he spent 17 years in Kuwait before moving to Colorado Springs three years ago. His asylum claim from September 2022 and work authorization from March 2023 have also lapsed, per federal reports.
Currently, Soliman sits in a county jail on a staggering $10 million cash bond, with a state court appearance set for Thursday, June 5, 2025. Authorities hint that more charges could be coming. Turns out, actions do have consequences, even if they take a while to catch up.
Meanwhile, his family—wife, 18-year-old daughter, and four minor children, all Egyptian citizens—found themselves in federal custody on Tuesday, June 3, 2025.
They haven’t been charged in connection with the attack, but U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said, "We are investigating to what extent his family knew about this heinous attack." That’s a fair question, though guilt by association is a slippery slope we should tread carefully on.
Judge Gallagher’s ruling to halt their deportation came with a stern warning about rights. He stated, "The court finds that deportation without process could work irreparable harm." While conservatives like me value law and order, rushing to deport without due process smells like the kind of overreach we often criticize in progressive circles.
The family’s attorneys fired back hard against any collective punishment, arguing, "It is patently unlawful to punish individuals for the crimes of their relatives." They added that such tactics violate democratic justice. Hard to argue with that principle, even if emotions run high after such a vile act.
Back to the victims—Kelli Christensen, spokesperson for UCHealth, noted about those hospitalized, "They have requested privacy to heal." That’s a request we should all respect, no matter where we stand on the political spectrum.
The timing of this attack couldn’t be more charged, coming at the start of the Jewish holiday Shavuot and just days after another violent incident in Washington tied to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Antisemitic violence is spiking across the U.S., and this Boulder attack, against a backdrop of global unrest, only pours fuel on an already raging fire.